


The Formless Blade

by Aondeug



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Poetry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-06
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-11-09 18:00:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11109909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aondeug/pseuds/Aondeug
Summary: Genji was a man maddened by himself until Zenyatta came and offered to show him the Way. A poem that looks at their relationship, and the devotion a pupil has for his master.





	The Formless Blade

**Author's Note:**

> This poem is written in the honor of my own Achaan who helped me pull myself up from my depression. Without that man I can't say I would still be alive, and so I wrote this poem for him to thank him for all that he has done for me and so many others. Having such a relationship myself, I see a lot of us in Genji and Zenyatta. Happily so. 
> 
> Sadhu, sadhu, sadhu.

 You have a sword

That can cut through anything

Be it wood or steel.

You cleave through all alike

With dragon infused might

And fierce shouts and greater hate,

Felling foes upon foes.

 

But you can’t cut through mind

To part the fog

With your gleaming blade. 

Nor through your limbs,

Detestable metal that they are

Like the sword you wield.

Nor can you slice through grief,

Still hot at your heels

Baying for the blood of a brother,

Or better yet your own.

So you have a sword,

But for what purpose?

 

He has a sword

Not of form or might

But of dauntless skill alone,  


Honed by the brightest wisdom,

Pearling at the crown of his head

Like a roaring flame.

He wields that sword with the grace

Of the monkey troop’s jester king

And slices straight through

All threat and woe,

Breaking even mind in two neat halves.

There sits this man

All made of metal

On a throne of lotuses

And around him you see bowing

The many-armed gods of Sumeru

Not in obedience 

But in awe filled respect.

 

Yet he doesn’t guard it greedily,

Storing it away as a secret

Only to be divulged rarely

To the great and the many rich.

No, he holds out his hand to you

Then two, then ten

And asks you to join him

In simplest zazen.

Not with judgment or fear

Or hatred or scorn,

But with a deep love

Undirected and extended to all

But now pulling you up

As a friend worth meeting

And a pupil worth teaching.

 

You sit down

Next to this metal monk

And listen to his dharma talks

And hear his jokes and his japes

And hearken to his advice

That all is without form

And that mind can be reigned in

Without effort or struggle.

But he cannot slice through the fog for you,

Freeing you from the bonds

Of these never-ending rounds.

But he can teach you

To wield your own blade

With such lion-like might

And fearlessly face the fogs

Which elude the many

To find what lays past

The Dread Prince’s illusion.

 

And so you have a sword

Which grows sharper day by day

As you swing in practice

Faithfully week by week.

And though it’s not so glorious yet

As that blade of his,

Your mighty metal master,

You feel the storms begin to relent

And you slip on past

Your old torments.

 

Then one day you awake

To the barest glimpse of it,

The profoundest truth

Beyond the mundane and transmundane

And all from grains of rice

Which weren’t to your liking.

On that day your blade grew sharper

And your devotion greater,

So you went and bowed down

In sets of three

To the mad metal monk

Who saved you from that greatest foe:

Your very own self.

**Author's Note:**

> As several references are made to Buddhist lore and iconography, some of which the reader might not know, I'm adding this section at the end explaining the ones I did make.
> 
> Sword metaphors - Zen Buddhism is very fond of metaphors for Enlightenment which involve swords. Namely a sword which can cut through all things, thought and no-thought alike. The bulk of the poem is based upon the idea of the sword which is the greatest thing, but the hardest to wield.
> 
> Mind - A complex thing in Buddhism, but at it's most basic mind is effectively what makes things seem real. All phenomenon is being experienced and interpreted by mind, leading to conceptual thought. These concepts are limited and often times entirely false, misleading us in our lives. Your very mind is your enemy in Buddhism.
> 
> Illusions, fogs, and clouds - Metaphors made to the concepts of Maya (illusion, trick) in Mahayana or, as it is known in Theravada, Vipallasa (distortion). The idea is that we as people misunderstand reality and what it really is. We take a lot of things to be truths, like that things make us happy or that we have selves. But these are actually like the tricks of a magician. They aren't real, but they seem to our eyes to be real. These are the primary hurdle in Buddhism.
> 
> Skillfulness - Beings like the Buddha are said to be skillful. That is they don't just know truths and spout them off, but that they understand them and can act rightly and wisely in all situations. Seeing through illusions and controlling the mind are skills to be nurtured. A concise list of the facets of skillfulness is the Noble Eightfold Path.
> 
> Fire on the head - An image seen in artistic depictions of Buddhas and Bodhisattas, especially in Theravadan tradition. Similar in effect to a halo, the flame represents the boundless wisdom of the Enlightened one.
> 
> The King of the Monkey Troop - In one of the Jataka tales, a series of Buddhist fables, the Buddha tells a story about how he was once the leader of a troop of monkeys. He led them wisely and honorably, and saved them from the wiles of a crocodile with a clever lie. 
> 
> Lotuses - The lotus was presented by the Buddha as a metaphor for the Enlightened mind. Like how the lotus floats above the muck of the pond, a well trained mind can float above the muck of the world. The Buddha is often seen resting on a throne of lotuses or one single large lotus in statues and artwork.
> 
> The bowing gods - The Buddha is noted to command the respect of the gods of Tivatimsa, and in numerous stories they are seen bowing in honor of him and the other Enlightened.
> 
> Mount Sumeru - The world mountain, which is shaped like a massive hourglass. At the very peak of Sumeru rests the Heaven of Tivatimsa, the home of the gods. Our world is the continent of Jambudvipa which rests to the south of Sumeru.
> 
> Zazen - Meditation, specifically of Zen. Typically performed in Lotus position.
> 
> Effortlessness - Many schools of Buddhism attest to the ease of Enlightenment and following the Eightfold Path. If one is trying too hard they won't be able to find their way down the road, because they got too caught up in wonderings and theories. But one day you'll simply be able to find the right way and when you do it will be the easiest thing in the world. To struggle is to fail, and to not struggle is also to fail. You must do neither.
> 
> Samsara - The Rounds of Rebirth. Samsara is often likened to chains and other bindings, holding you down to life. Samsara is also often depicted as being a wheel or a ring, something which never ends. The goal of Buddhism is to break through Samsara.
> 
> Lions - Lions show up in two primary metaphors. The one alluded to here is of a fierce and noble creature, which is fearless and utterly undaunted. Monks are compared to lions numerously. The other metaphor not seen here is of pride.
> 
> Mara, the Prince of Desire - The personification of desire in Buddhism. An almost Satan-like tempter figure who is both literally existent and also a metaphor for one's own mind and desires. He's often depicted as being easy to best by the wise, but seemingly unstoppable for the unskillful.
> 
> Absolute Truth - The ultimate truth in Buddhism that is Enlightenment goes past the mundane, our lives, and the transmundane, the lives of the gods without form. It is entirely beyond reality and even Heaven. It never changes. It can't be misinterpreted. It can't be worded or described. It is simply True.
> 
> Bowing - Bowing to images of the Buddha and to monks, particularly your teachers, is a widespread practice in Buddhist traditions. It often occurs in sets of three, with the person bowing on their knees and touching their forehead to the ground.
> 
> No-self, non-self - The illusion that we have a self or the misunderstanding as to what a self actually is. Ultimately the greatest hurdle for a Buddhist to cross is themselves and their own mind.


End file.
